Alaska woman attacked by bear while using toilet

A woman in Alaska says she "jumped up and screamed" after she was attacked by a bear while using the toilet.

Shannon Stevens sustained a puncture wound while using a remote outhouse toilet at Chilkat Lake last weekend.

After hearing her scream, Ms Stevens' brother went to see what had caused the injury, only to find a bear's head in the hole of the toilet.

Ms Stevens says the wound was caused by either a bite or a swipe from the animal's claw.

She was spending the weekend in a yurt with her brother Erik and his girlfriend when the incident occurred. Earlier in the evening they had cooked sausages on an open firepit.

"I got out there and sat down on the toilet and immediately something bit my butt as I sat down," she told the Associated Press news agency.